I've been enjoying Cakebread Cellars wines for years, especially its Napa Chardonnay, richly perfumed with golden apple, pear and citrus aromas. But I never dreamed that "Cakebread" is a family name. I assumed that with its culinary implications, the moniker on the label referred to some wonderful baked delight I'd never been fortunate enough to taste.

I was set straight recently when I sat down to lunch with the Cakebread brothers in Newport Beach. Their wine was an accompaniment to the meal: Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, and of course some Chardonnay.

Cakebread has expanded its acreage since Jack, the family patriarch, bought 22 acres near Rutherford in Napa around 40 years ago.

"We've expanded from 22 acres to 65 acres right around where the winery is," said Jack's son Bruce, the company's president and COO. "Today we have 560 acres: about 100 up in the Anderson Valley and around 460 in Napa, from Howell Mountain all the way down to Carneros."

"We're now one of the major grape growers in the Napa Valley, which is a pretty cool thing," added Bruce's brother Dennis, senior vice president of sales and marketing. "We can control everything to a high degree. All of our wine could be labeled estate. We either own the (vineyard) or it's under our long-term control."

Bruce was just graduating from high school when his father bought the land on a whim in 1972. An accomplished photographer who had studied under Ansel Adams, he was in Napa shooting photos for a book when he mentioned to family friends with a ranch in Rutherford that he'd love to own a vineyard some day.

"Some day" came that day. Shortly after he returned home, Jack received a call from the ranch owners. Was he interested in buying their property? That was that. Cakebread's first vintage came out the next year: 157 cases of 1973 Chardonnay.

Bruce caught the winemaking bug right away and studied oenology, first at Cal Poly, then at UC Davis. When he graduated in 1978, the company was still minuscule. "We were making about 10 barrels of wine a year at that point," he said.

Dennis came on board in the mid 1980s. "I was always more interested in the business side," said the UC Berkeley grad. "I'm a CPA and spent more than 10 years in the banking business before coming into the wine industry. I remember my dad saying, "Gosh I just borrowed $300,000 for some equipment.' I told him, 'Dad, that seems big to you, but I've been dealing with $10 million transactions every day.'"

The family grew up around small businesses. "Our grandfather started an auto repair shop in Oakland in 1927, which was there for many years," Dennis said. "If we knew one thing, it's that businesses that succeed grow slowly and carefully."

Cakebread soon became known as an impressive producer of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Its Merlot was prized, too. By the end of the 1980s it was a top-tier Napa producer, and it was one of the first wineries to follow sustainable practices.

Thanks to Jack's wife Dolores, Cakebread Cellars has been at the cutting edge of the health food and gourmet trends since the early 1980's. An avid cook and gardener, she created an annual four-day get-together called "American Harvest Workshop." Top chefs from around the country come together to talk with Cakebread's winemaker, Julianne Laks, and local farmers about pairing wine with food and including wine in a healthy lifestyle.

"Good wine and good food are essential to healthy living," Dennis said as he poured me another glass of Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon (it comes from a 29-acre Howell Mountain vineyard and I would kill for a bottle).

I'm not sure if that's the case. But it certainly felt like the truth during that wonderful midday meal.

Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa carries a wide selection of Cakebread's wine. Some is pricey, but the 2010 Lake County Zinfandel can be yours for only $23.99 a bottle.

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